Many downhole operations require an anchor to be established within a wellbore, for example to secure tubing and equipment within the wellbore and to establish a reaction point for other wellbore operations, such as setting packers, bridge plugs, frac plugs or the like.
Slip systems and apparatus are known in the art for establishing downhole anchors, with many different designs of slip system in current use. Such slip systems typically include a number of slip members which are radially expanded or moved into engagement with a bore wall. Cone based slip systems are known, in which a cone is axially moved relative to one or more slips to radially expand and support the slips in engagement with a bore wall.
It is recognized that some conventional slip systems and apparatus may have limited expansion capabilities, at least not without compromising load ratings when fully expanded. Some proposals have been made in the art to permit higher expansion ratios to be achieved. For example, US 2011/0284208 discloses a telescopic slip system that includes a slip mounted within a cone, wherein the cone is radially moved by a cone expander, with the slip permitted to be radially moved relative to the cone.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,150 discloses a high expansion packer which includes a slip member which is moved radially outwardly over radially stacked cones.